suffragette

[ suhf-ruh-jet ]

noun

1. a female advocate of the right of women to vote, especially one who participated in protests in the United Kingdom in the early 20th century.

suffragette

/ ˌsʌfrəˈdʒɛt /

noun

1. a female advocate of the extension of the franchise to women, esp a militant one, as in Britain at the beginning of the 20th century

suffragette

1. A suffragist . Today, the term suffragette is often considered demeaning.

Gender Note

See -ette.

Derived Forms

• ˌsuffraˈgettism, noun

Other Words From

• suf·fra·get·tism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of suffragette¹

First recorded in 1900–05; suffrage + -ette

Word History and Origins

Origin of suffragette¹

C20: from suffrag ( e ) + -ette

Example Sentences

Built more than 140 years ago, its visitors have included suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst and The Beatles.

From BBC

British actress Glynis Johns, known for her role as suffragette mother Winifred Banks in Mary Poppins, died in Los Angeles in January aged 100.

From BBC

Christina Broom, one of Britain’s first female press photographers, recorded the burgeoning suffragette movement in the early 1900s.

From BBC

From the early 1900s, Broom began to sell postcards of her photos from a stall beside Buckingham Palace, showing images of contemporary London, including historic images of the women's suffragette movement.

From BBC

The Scottish Parliament issued an apology in November 2022 after a woman was ejected from a committee meeting for refusing to remove a scarf in suffragette colours.

From BBC